endless war in the drone age
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Endless War in the Drone Age
Medea Benjamin
• Public tired of war: 2012 Washington Post poll 66% say war not worth fighting, including Republicans
Drones to the rescue….
Disasters of Iraq/Afghanistan/ threat of war with Iran/intervention in Syria?
Pentagon: 50 drones in 2000 about 10,000 today
Polls in US: Feb 2012, 83% approval
Feb 2013, 56% approval
Non-military uses:• Forest fires• Finding illegal
loggers/whalers• Search and rescue
missions• Commercial
purposes• DIY Drones hobbyists
Lethal Predator and Reaper drones are made by General Atomics
Remote control pilots
Kill List—high value targetsNumber of named militant leaders killed
2004-2012: 50
Represent 2% of drone fatalities
Where has the US conducted drone strikes?
• Iraq• Afghanistan• Libya• Pakistan• Yemen• Somalia• Philippines• Mali?
Where does the US have overseas drone bases?Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (for Yemen), Djbouti (for Somalia), Seychelles (off coast of E Africa), Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Turkey, Australia (Cocos Islands)
Missiles released in Afghanistan
(info scrubbed by Air Force in March
2013) 2009 2010 2011 2012 TOTAL–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 257 279 294 506 1336
Known US covert drone strikes: Pakistan January 2004 – June 2013
Total US drone strikes: 370 (Obama: 318)
Total reported killed: 2,548 – 3,539
Total children reported killed: 168-197
Source: Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Photos the American public never sees
“I was made an orphan by drones.”
Noor Behram photographs drone victims
August 23, 2010
Syed Wali
• 5 houses targeted believed to be of Haqqani network
• Killed mostly woman and children
• No prominent Taliban/AQ leader was killed
Bismillah family, killed by drone strike on August 23, 2010
Maezol Khan, 8 years old, killed Feb 14, 2009
Nasir Khan (left), Naeem Khan
Meeting with Kareem Khan in Islamabad
Kareem Khan’s compound hit on Dec. 31, 2009
Karem’s brother Asif Iqbal & son Zaheenullah, killed by drone strike
March 17, 2011 Jirga attack killed over 40, including large number of elders,
left seeking revenge
Pakistani teenager Tariq Aziz gets journalist
training in Islamabad—could have been captured
Tariq killed in drone strike
October 30, 2011, two days after the gathering
Living Under Drones• Study by Stanford/NYU law schools
• US drone strike policies cause harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians
• terrorize men, women, and children• make them afraid to assist injured victims
• shy away from gathering in groups• some parents keep their children out of
school• family members afraid to attend funerals
Response from Pakistanis
• Initial agreement behind the scenes• Later called for halt—Parliament voted unanimously• Peshawar High Court ruling• Elections: Nawaz Sharif, protested after taking office• People protest regularly—Imran Khan
Imran Khan’s Peace March to Waziristan, October 8, 2012
Known US covert drone strikes: Yemen January 2002 – June
2013
Total US drone strikes: 46-99
Total reported killed: 284-454
Farea al-Muslimi testifies in Congress
April 23, 2013
US citizens killed: Anwar Al-Awlaki, Samir Khan, Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki
16-year-old born in Denver, killed in Yemen on October 14, 2 weeks after his father was killed by a
drone strike
Former White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs, asked to justify the killing of the younger al-Awlaki, said, “I would suggest that you should have a far more responsible father.”
International law• Can act in self defense if there is an
imminent threat• “anticipatory self-defense” is illegal
In Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, US not engaged in authorized armed conflict
Ultimate Question
•Would the US allow any other country to fire drones into US against our citizens?
• Global Proliferation• 76 countries; main producers US, Israel, China• Israel is number 1 exporter• Iran producing spy drones
Government entities: -FBI-Border patrol-Homeland Security -US Air Force -Forest Service
Companies:-General Atomics -Honeywell-Raytheon
Universities:-Cornell -Johns Hopkins-Arizona -Colorado-Connecticut-Florida-Wisconsin
Police Departments:-Gadsden in Alabama-Miami -Houston -Little Rock
Drones coming home… About 1,000 permits granted since 2009 by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). About 330 current.Sampling of FAA permits:
Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Drone Caucus
Mission statement of the drone caucus: to address “The urgent need to rapidly develop and deploy more unmanned systems in support of ongoing civil, military and law enforcement operations.”
Feb. 14, 2012 new legislation passed, signed by Obama
ShadowHawk drone with Montgomery County,
Texas SWAT team members
What can we do about drones?
• Educate yourself and others--buy book• Join Drones Watch (droneswatch.org) KILLING OVERSEAS:• Protests at bases, manufacturers • Get drones out of CIA hands• Organize faith-based community• Pressure White House/Congress • International convention ICRACDOMESTIC USE• Local, resolutions Drone-Free Zones• Statewide and national billsGLOBAL GATHERING Nov. 29-Dec 1 LONDON
www.CODEPINK.org/drones
www.DRONESWATCH.org